Joyce PivenJoyce Piven (Co-Founder / Artistic Director Emeritus) was one of the founding members and leading actresses at Playwrights' Theatre, the group that spawned Compass Players and Second City. With Playwright's Theatre, she played leading roles in MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, THE SEAGULL, THE DYBUKK, ROUND DANCE and CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE and studied extensively with Uta Hagen and Mira Rostova. Returning to Chicago, she and husband Byrne Piven helped Paul Sills form the Second City Repertory with Bernie Sahlins and Joyce Sloane as well as (with Sills) the original Story Theatre Company. Ms. Piven played Lady Macbeth in the Piven Theatre's futuristic MACBETH, Bessie in Wisdom Bridge's production of AWAKE AND SING, Lillian Hellman in THE JULIA PROJECT directed by Shira Piven at New York's Greenwich Theatre, and most recently appeared in GREAT EXPECTATIONS at Piven Theatre and in Lookingglass Theatre’s HARD TIMES. Ms. Piven is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus of the Piven Theatre Workshop and founding director of the Piven Theatre Workshop's famed Young People's Company. Ms. Piven has directed Lili Taylor in the revival of Maria Irene Fornes' MUD at Victory Gardens and she directed the remounting of ORLANDO at the Actors Gang in Los Angeles. At Piven Theatre, she has directed: Rochelle Distelheim's SADIE IN LOVE, Caryl Churchill's TOP GIRLS, Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's ORLANDO, BRILLIANT TRACES by Cindy Lou Johnson, SPEED-THE-PLOW by David Mamet, COLLECTED STORIES by Donald Margulies, Chekhov’s THREE SISTERS, CHEKHOV: THE STORIES, Sarah Ruhl’s EURYDICE, FESTIVAL OF JEWISH STORIES and this season's CHEKHOV STORIES: THE EMERGING WOMAN. With Emmy Award Winning son Jeremy and writer/director/daughter Shira, she is dedicated to keeping the Story Theatre method and the Piven Theatre Workshop legacy alive and thriving. Jennifer Green
Jennifer Green (Artistic Director) is a grant recipient of the Theatre Communications Group’s New Generations Program, supporting Leaders of Tomorrow. At Piven Theatre, Jennifer’s directing credits include MAD DANCERS, OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD, MAD FOREST (2003 After Dark Award: Best Ensemble), BURN THIS (Jeff Recommended), BOOK OF DAYS (Chicago premiere), NEVER IN MY LIFETIME (named one of the Top 10 Shows of the year by the Chicago Sun-Times), GREAT EXPECTATIONS featuring Joyce Piven and most recently LADY CHAPLIN & HER TRAMP. Jennifer directed the world premiere of FOR YOU WERE A STRANGER at Chicago’s Hothouse and assistant directed Sarah Ruhl’s ORLANDO at the Actor’s Gang in Los Angeles. Since 1997, she has been an adapter and director with Piven’s Young People’s Company and a Piven faculty member. Jennifer is an adjunct faculty member of Northwestern University and has been a resident artist in public and private schools in the Chicago area with both Urban Gateways and the Illinois Arts Council, teaching theatre to students ranging from kindergarten through adults. Dr. Susan Applebaum
Dr. Susan Applebaum holds a Ph.D. in Theatre and Drama from Northwestern University and has taught in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Loyola University Chicago for almost thirty years. In 1974 Susan met Joyce and Byrne Piven and began studying with Joyce in the Teacher’s Class at the old Davis Street studio. For the next fourteen years, Susan wore many hats at the Workshop. She taught classes for all ages, served as the Director of the Junior Company from 1983 to 1985 and as Director of the Young People’s Company when Joyce Piven went on her first sabbatical in 1987-88. Susan left the Workshop to pursue her degree at Northwestern University and, from 1995 to 2001, she lived and worked in Kansas. Upon her return to Evanston in 2002, Susan rejoined the faculty of the Piven Theatre Workshop teaching a Teacher’s class and directing for the Performance class. At present, Dr. Applebaum is collaborating with Joyce Piven on a book about the actor training principles and methods taught at PTW. Bernie Beck
Bernie Beck has been leading theater games classes at the Piven
Theatre Workshop for more than thirty years. He was among the first
members of the original Workshop on Davis Street in Evanston, and he
has studied, taught and performed with the Workshop ever since. His
children were students at the Workshop, as well. He began studying
theater games more than forty years ago, when he moved to Chicago to
become a sociologist at Northwestern University. He was introduced to
the games by Paul Sills the pioneer of the form, and he has also
studied with Paul’s mother, Viola Spolin, who adapted games to
theatrical work, as well as Sheldon Patinkin, and Barbara Harris. He
has appeared on stage in Chicago for four decades. He was a member of
the first Story Theater ensemble, led by Paul Sills, and he first
worked with Joyce and Byrne Piven in that group. He performed in all
the early productions of the Workshop, in which Story Theater was
developed as a medium for presenting great literature in addition to
the folk tales that were the earliest sources. He has also been active
in Chicago area theatrical ventures focused on Jewish themes, including
many shows at the National Jewish Theater and the Chicago Jewish
Theater, and he was a member of the Yiddish Arts Ensemble, which
presented adaptations of Jewish stories in collaboration with the
Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. He was well known to Chicago area Jewish
children as Herschel in the Ensemble’s production of Herschel and the
Hanukkah Goblins. He has also appeared in many shows on some of
Chicago’s leading stages, including the Organic Theater, Victory
Gardens Theater, Wisdom Bridge Theater, St. Nicholas Theater, and Drury
Lane. He is particularly pleased with his role as Al Capone’s lawyer
on several episodes of the television series, The Untouchables, shot in
Chicago. Although he is retired now from Northwestern, he continues to
be active in sociological and popular cultural issues as a film and
television writer for the journal Multicultural Perspectives and as a
frequently quoted source for local journalists. He lives in Deerfield
with his wife, Sherry. They have been studying Mandarin Chinese together for
many years, but they are not quite fluent yet. Sarah Bendix
Sarah Bendix is a local director, performer and designer. She has worked with Manifest Theater, Redmoon, Ravenous Productions, Trap Door Theater, Greasy Joan, The Piven Theater and others. Her work has also been seen at the Around the Coyote Festival, Rhinoceros Festival, Links Hall, the Gwenda Jay/Addington Gallery, Peter Jones Gallery and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art. Audre Budrys
Audre Budrys is a Chicago area actor who has performed with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Romuva Productions, Theatre at the Center, Mary Arrchie Theatre, Emerald City Productions, Chamber Theatre Productions of Boston, MA. She has performed evenings of poetry in Chicago, Washington DC, and Detroit, as well as in Vilnius and Siauliai, Lithuania. In 2007, her one woman show Une Baye was presented as part of the Rhinoceros Theater Festival. After receiving her undergraduate degree in theatre from Northwestern University, Audre lived in Lithuania, where she performed with the Drama Theatre of Siauliai for a season, appearing in two original Lithuanian works, and toured Lithuania with these productions. She also acted with the Drama Theatre of Kaunas. Audre was the company manager of the first Lithuanian International Theatre Festival, LIFE. Later Audre went back to Northwestern to earn a Master’s degree in education. She has taught drama at Nativity B.V.M. School on Chicago’s southwest side, improvisation for adults at Players Workshop, and in 1999 co-founded a Lithuanian-American community theatre. Audre is very happy to be teaching at Piven Theatre Workshop, a place where students are guided to seek their own wellsprings of creativity, are encouraged to find and share their voices, and are able to discover the joy of making theatre in a supportive environment. Marcia Cahn
Marcia Cahn has taught at Piven (beginning, advanced, and project class) for over twenty years. She has taught creative drama for Chicagoland Jewish Community Centers pre-school/daycare system for twenty years. She has also taught drama to special populations through The Insitute for Therapy In the Arts. She has a B.S. and M.S. degree. Larry Grimm
Larry Grimm has been affiliated with Piven as an actor or teacher for over 15 years. He appeared as Edmond in King Lear which starred Byrne Piven and was directed by Shira Piven, toured story theater to Chicago schools with Urban Gateways, and will appear in the upcoming Because They Have No Words at the Workshop. Other credits include Steppenwolf (Wolf Lullaby, A Fair Country, I Never Sang for My Father) Lookingglass (1984, The Naked King) Raven Theatre (Death of Salesman, Glass Menagerie). Larry is a company member of a Red Orchid theater where he has acted and directed in countless shows. A recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Citation, he currently teaches English and Drama at Adlai Stevenson High School. Jared Kling
Jared Kling is a teacher at the Piven Theatre Workshop and recently graduated from Northwestern University after having majored in Performance Studies. He has worked with and at Piven for over ten years as a student and member of the staff. Denice Lee
Denice Lee is a Chicago area actor who has worked with Collaboraction, Stir Friday Night! Sketch comedy group, Steppenwolf, Goodman Theatre, Tireswing Theatre, YamaWorks and the Artistic Home. Most recently she traveled to NYC with the Hypocrites to perform off-broadway. She is a graduate of the School at Steppenwolf. Denice has apprenticed and assisted at Piven Theatre for 2 years and is grateful to be part of the Piven staff. Arielle Nóbile
Arielle Nóbile is an actress, writer, filmmaker, director, and teacher. As an alumna of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Arielle has been involved with multiple theatre, independent film, and documentary projects throughout the world. Her passions in life are to help people to express their creative selves and to bring people closer together through the power of storytelling. She is on the faculty at the Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston, where she is also a former student and YPC alumna. She is also an adjunct faculty member at the Second City Training Center in Chicago and a graduate of their Director’s Training Program. She is the founder of Family Legacy Productions, a personal and family history documentary production company started in 2005, www.familylegacypro.com for more info. Donna Osowski
Donna Osowski has been an apprentice teacher for two years at the Piven Theatre Workshop, as well as being a student there for just over 10 years. She appeared in the Fall 2005 production A Festival of Jewish Stories and has also worked as a production assistant on several shows at the Workshop. Additionally, she has appeared in staged readings, worked as a stage manager for a few years in Chicago, and holds a Bachelor's degree in theatre from Illinois State University. Susan Payne
Susan Payne is equally at home on the opera and theater stage. Susan began her dramatic training at Piven at the age of nine and has never left her theater home. She believes that the foundation she received at Piven is the basis upon which all her artistic endeavors stand. She is an alumnus of the Young People’s Company and has been teaching at Piven for the past ten years. Susan’s opera credits include Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Violetta in La Traviata and Marenka in The Bartered Bride. She is the winner of the City Opera of the Quad Cities Emerging Professionals Award as well as the Musicians Club of Women Farwell Award among others. Her recital performances of Barber, Strauss and De Falla have been noted for the same dramatic and vocal artistry displayed in her operatic roles. Susan received her M.F.A from DePaul University and continued her studies at the International Institute of Vocal Arts and The Intermezzo Young Artists Training Program. Her most recent theater credits include performances at the 365 Festival, Poonies Cabaret and Around the Coyote Festival. Susan encourages all her students to come find a place and a voice at Piven. Jonathan Pitts Jonathan Pitts is the Co-Founder of the Chicago Improv Festival, as well as the Creator and Founder of the College Comedy Championship, the Teen Comedy Fest and CIF's many education outreach programs. For the past 10 years he’s been a Guest Artist Faculty Member of The Second City Training Center and he has also taught improv, theatre workshops, and Artist-In-Residence programming for After School Matters, Beverly Arts Center, Richards High School Brave New Workshop, Chicago Academy for the Arts, Chicago Park District, DePaul University’s Writing Program, Dirty South Improv Festival, Free Street Theater, Illinois High School Theatre Fest, Magic City, Redmoon Theater, Southwest Theatre Fest, London’s The Spontaneity Shop, and Very Special Arts. As a creator/director of spontaneous theatre, performance art, original productions, and sketch comedy, he has created/directed several shows including Storybox's World Tales; Storybox; Double Play; Viola Spolin: Visionary Woman of Play; The Xprovisation Series; The Silent Movie; The Oracle; Chimes; The Answer; Kidz Writes; Sybil‘s Playhouse; and Phantasmagoria Improvisational Theatre. As an improviser he has performed in over 1,000 improvised shows with several improv ensembles across America including iO’s first ever House Team, Stone Soup. As an actor he has appeared in over 30 productions with numerous Chicago area theatre companies.
Mikalina Rabinsky
Mikalina Rabinsky is a theater artist living in Chicago. A senior
teacher at the Piven Theatre since 1998, she has been a student of the
workshop since childhood. For many years she has directed for the Young
People’s Company and teaches classes in Improvisation, Story Theatre,
Scene Study and Commedia dell’Arte to both children and adults. She has
been engaged as a performer, a puppet, mask and spectacle creator,
assistant director and director for numerous theatres including Piven
Theatre, Manifest Theatre, Redmoon, Blair Thomas and Company, Local
Infinities, Ravenous Productions, Northlight, Jen Onopa and Company and
Ba Boom. She is a co-founder with Sarah Bendix of the visual theatre
company The Waters Project where she co-created and co-directed both The Snow Queen in 2005 (in the inaugural Piven Performance Lab) and Le Cat Show
in 2007. Her work has been seen at Links Hall, The Ukrainian Institute
of Art, Around the Coyote, Chicago’s Her-Ra Festival, Heart of Gold,
The Spare Room, Rhythm Night Club and Millennium Park. Her interest
lies in pursuing performance projects that challenge the boundaries
between artistic genres and academic disciplines and has primarily
taken the form of adapted myths, fairytales, ethnographic and personal
performances, as well as outdoor spectacle. Thanks to her study with
Joyce and Byrne, her own theatrical endeavors have always emphasized
collaboration with an ensemble to best make use of their unique voices
to tell a story. Nancy SchultzNancy G. Schultz is honored and excited to be joining the inspiring, dedicated staff at Piven Theatre Workshop as PEEP teacher this Spring! She worked with The Elaine Settler Players, a creative drama ensemble for adults with developmental disabilities, for over 13 years as teacher/administrator, and prior to that, volunteer. Nancy earned her M.A. in Theatre from Northwestern University.
Joanne Underwood
Joanne Underwood is a senior teacher and artistic associate at the Piven Theatre where she has taught a wide range of classes to both children and adults over the past ten years. She appeared as Cordelia in King Lear starring Byrne Piven and Florina in Mad Forest (2003 After Dark Award: Best Ensemble) and numerous other productions at the Piven Theatre, greasy joan and company, and Raven Theatre and has studied acting with the Moscow Art Theatre, Shakespeare & Company, and the Chicago Shakespeare Company. She has taught acting workshops at many schools and organizations throughout the Chicagoland area such as Apple Tree Theatre, Roosevelt University, and Dance Center of Evanston. In addition, Joanne is a psychotherapist in private practice in Evanston and is affiliated with the C.G. Jung Center’s June Singer Clinic for Depth Psychology.
Beth Voitik
Beth Voitik started at PTW in 8th grade and is a Young People’s Company graduate. Her work with Piven (especially character studies), lead her to Sociology/Anthropology studies at the University of Dayton. Beth has apprenticed and assisted classes for 2 years at PTW, and adapted, directed and acted in pieces performed there as well.
Apprentice Teachers
Carlo Aparo, Emily Broderick, Caitlin DeLong, Carrie
Graham, Katy Hansell, Morvan Higgins, Aayisha Humphrey, James Jauss, Kaleigh Jerkatis, Will Kinnear, Catherine Lynch, Jessye Mueller, Angelique Mukandamage, Donna Osowski, Jason Raymer, Brennan Roche, Jordan Siegal, Katie Velez, Emelia Zuckerman
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